


A Slight Case of Death

by strid



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Gen, POV Experimental, POV Uchiha Itachi, POV Uchiha Shisui, Shimura Danzou Being an Asshole, Time Loop, Uchiha Shisui Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:41:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27019717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strid/pseuds/strid
Summary: The first time Shisui gets killed, it’s a surprise. By the third time, it’s starting to get a bit old.
Relationships: Uchiha Itachi & Uchiha Shisui
Comments: 16
Kudos: 34





	A Slight Case of Death

**Author's Note:**

> Regarding the plot — imagine the movie Happy Death Day except it’s nobody’s birthday, Shisui is the one dying, and Danzo is the person that keeps trying to kill him. And there’s also a dog. 
> 
> In terms of the structure — the story is simultaneously told through two perspectives (Itachi and Shisui). These perspectives are split between two columns, with the events of every paragraph in each column happening at the same time. I would _highly_ recommend enabling the creator’s style when you read this, as it makes the formatting far more palatable.
> 
> Now, there’s definitely no “right” way to read this. You can read all of one perspective, then all of the other, or you can read it straight through and bounce back and forth between the two. I’d be really interested to hear which one you decide to go with and how it affected your experience reading the story. Overall, though, I’d really just love to hear what you think about the structure in general: is it interesting? Annoying? The worst thing you’ve ever read? Let me know! I doubt this is an original idea, but I’ve never personally seen it done before, so I’m very curious to find out whether people vibe with it/are indifferent to it/absolutely despise it.
> 
> With that all being said, I hope you enjoy!

|   
---|---  
  
**Shisui**

| 

**Itachi**  
  
Shisui wakes terribly, terribly slowly. Consciousness creeps across his mind, tiptoeing through the crevices of his brain. He’s vaguely aware of his toes, first, then his arms, and then the warm bed underneath him. A low groan bubbles up the back of his throat as he peels his eyes open, the world around him still dark. He twists underneath his covers and squints at the clock: _4:02_.

| 

Itachi is barely awake when he feels his body suck in a deep, sharp breath. The air knots together tightly in his lungs as his eyes shoot open, his Sharingan instinctively spinning to life.  
  
He blinks once, twice, because he knows he must be imagining things, that he’s seeing at least _one_ of the glaring red numbers incorrectly. The four is maybe a nine, really, or maybe an eight. The zero is...he squints harder. _No, yeah, that one’s definitely just a zero — fine, whatever. But the two could be a...six, or something? Eh, screw it, that doesn’t matter — just as long as the four is wrong. The four has to be wrong._

| 

_Something’s wrong._  
  
He stares. And stares. But the four doesn’t change.

| 

Itachi exhales the air in a thin stream through his teeth. His pulse hammers hard in his throat and wrists as he lifts himself up gingerly, his fingers digging hard into the bark of the branch he’d settled on for the night. _Something’s wrong._ The thought clamors against the inside of his skull as he glances around the forest. It’s entirely shrouded in shadows; everything is still, quiet. There are no chakra signatures in the area as far as he can tell, and his crows haven’t sent out any sort of signal.  
  
_Fucking shit._ Shisui rolls over and tugs the covers back over his head. Squeezing his eyes shut, he buries his face into his pillow, devoting all of his concentration towards willing himself back to sleep because he will be _damned_ if he gets up before sunrise on the one day he doesn’t actually have to.

| 

He reaches for his pocket, feels for the scroll he’d been tasked to deliver.  
  
. . .

| 

_Still there._ Itachi looks around, his nerves bristling. _But something’s wrong._  
  
_Just go back to sleep, Shisui. Just go the fuck back to sleep._

| 

Except there...isn’t. Or there isn’t anything wrong at the moment, at least. But a thick dread has oozed into his stomach nonetheless, has started pressing hard against his intestines.  
  
. . .

| 

He thinks back, tries to figure out _what_ could possibly be bothering him. It’s been less than ten hours since he left the Leaf, but the mission is going smoothly — he hasn’t run into any enemies, hasn’t had to make any detours. He’s right on schedule to arrive in the Land of Wind and deliver the scroll to the ANBU squad stationed there. Everything is fine. Perfect, actually, which is a miracle given the fact that this mission was a last minute assignment. _So what the hell is my problem?_  
  
. . .

| 

His fingers toy with the edge of the scroll as he contemplates, the birds starting to sing around him. Their melody echoes through the trees, light and flouncy as it bounces off the leaves. But the trilling drills into Itachi’s ears nonetheless, makes him want to cringe. _Because something is wrong._  
  
_This sucks._

| 

Itachi takes another cursory look around, but nothing has changed in the slightest — everything is calm and peaceful, the world around him just starting to wake up.  
  
. . .

| 

_I’m being ridiculous,_ he tells himself, trying to force his body to relax. Nothing is wrong. It’s just the stress of the past few weeks catching up to him, the concern of being outside of the village and away from the clan while knowing everything that’s going on.  
  
. . .

| 

The next breath he takes is shaky, unsteady. _The coup. The council’s distrust. Shisui._  
  
. . .

| 

Itachi looks up at the gradually brightening sky and idly wonders if his cousin is up yet. It’s his day off (apparently), but Shisui has always proven to be wholly incapable of sleeping in. He rises with the sun unfailingly, his body physically unable to remain asleep once the first hint of light filters through the clouds.  
  
_Fuck, this isn’t working. What about that breathing exercise thing?_

| 

He feels himself start to frown. Shisui was the one that had told him to go on this mission — Itachi had wanted to refuse it, had wanted to stay in the village with his cousin to monitor the situation. But Shisui had said, verbatim, that was _fucking stupid_ and that nothing was going to happen just because Itachi wasn’t in the Leaf for two damn days. The coup had been delayed by a few weeks at least — the two of them had time, now, time to come up with a better solution. _“So take the damn mission, Itachi. Get out of the village and get your mind off things. I think you’ll feel a lot better when you get back.”_  
  
_Okay, okay, breathe in: one, two, three, four. Hold: one, two, three, four, five — shit, wait, how long are you supposed to hold your breath for? Fuck._

| 

_Get your mind off things._ It was an inconceivable suggestion, that Itachi might actually be able to _stop_ thinking about his clan’s planned treachery for even a second. He opened his mouth, ready to tell his cousin exactly that, but Shisui was already shooing him off his doorstep. _“I have the day off tomorrow anyway,”_ he told Itachi with a wide grin. _“I’m not doing shit, whether you’re here or not. So you might as well go make some money on an easy mission.”_  
  
_Well, okay, fuck that. I’ll just count backwards. 100, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 91, 90..._

| 

Itachi had nearly gaped at him. _“A day off? Why the hell do you have —”_ But Shisui was already closing the door in his face. _“I’m not doing shit!”_ he’d called. _“Take the mission!”_ And so Itachi did.  
  
_...89, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, 80..._

| 

That awful feeling in his gut pulses. He sighs, jumps down from the tree and lands softly on the grass below. Sitting here worrying about it isn’t going to accomplish anything — the faster he completes this damn mission, the faster he can get back to the Leaf.  
  
_...79, 78, 77, 76 —_ “Fucking hell.” Shisui throws the sheets off his body, stares morosely at his ceiling.

| 

Itachi takes off at a run, the trees blurring around him in the early morning light.  
  
_Fuck this day._

| 

_Soon. I’ll be back home soon._  
  
• • •

| 

• • •  
  
Surprisingly, things don’t get much better after that. The morning itself isn’t too awful, but that’s mostly due to the fact that Shisui doesn’t actually bother leaving his apartment. He sits around for hours instead, trying to find _something_ to do. This, however, turns out to be an exercise in futility: he’s read every scroll he owns multiple times at this point, there’s nothing on TV except those awful reality shows Itachi pretends he doesn’t like, and he’s already cleaned his apartment at least three times over. So now he’s bored. Very, very bored.

| 

Itachi stops in his tracks, breathing hard as he swipes the sweat off his forehead. He looks behind him, pictures the miles he’s traveled. The border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire is only a few hours away. If he continues at this pace, he’ll be able to make it back to the Leaf by tomorrow afternoon, easily.  
  
Shisui sighs, sinking back against his couch as he stares blankly at the wooden planks of his floor. He could devote this time to thinking about his plan, he supposes. It’s the whole reason Lord Third gave him the day off in the first place, after all. _To reconsider_ , as he put it, to make sure he’s _absolutely certain_ he wants to cast Kotoamatsukami on Fugaku to stop the coup. But he doesn’t really want to do that, in all actuality, is really trying his hardest _not_ to think about what he’s going to do and the consequences he’ll face as a result. So he doesn’t. Because it’s his fucking day off and he doesn’t fucking have to.

| 

And yet.  
  
So he decides to leave his apartment, thinking that something outside might be able to hold his attention for longer than five seconds. And that’s where the problems start, ironically, because he _immediately_ gets shit on by a bird the second he walks out the door. Which, in theory, is supposed to be good luck. But he doesn’t feel lucky at all as the crap dribbles over his hair and _motherfucking hell, it just dripped down my shirt; this is fucking disgusting — gross, gross, gross_ —

| 

_Something is wrong._ The feeling tugs him back towards the Leaf, imploring and insistent. _Turn back,_ it whispers. _Turn back now._  
  
Shisui goes back inside. Takes a shower. And then he tries again.

| 

_Stop it,_ a stern voice growls in his mind. _Stop being fucking ridiculous and complete your damn mission._ He forces himself to move forward.  
  
There’s no bird when he walks outside this time. Instead, there’s a dog. A large dog. Just...sitting there.

| 

And then he stops.  
  
Shisui looks up and down the street, but there’s not a single person in sight. He peers back down at the animal. _No collar._ “Hello,” he greets cautiously. The dog tilts its head to the side, its tongue lolling.

| 

Itachi curses under his breath, and it takes every bit of self-restraint to stop himself from petulantly kicking at the ground. _What the hell is wrong with me?_  
  
Hesitantly, Shisui reaches out a hand towards the dog. The animal stills momentarily, tilting its head in the opposite direction as it leans forward to sniff at him. The dog doesn’t look at all familiar to Shisui, so he doesn’t think it belongs to anyone in the compound. It seems friendly enough, though. Probably a civilian’s lost dog that managed to wander a bit too far from the village center, he figures, since it doesn't carry itself like a ninja hound at all. But Shisui keeps his muscles taught nonetheless, ready to wrench his arm away if the dog suddenly decides it wants to take a bite out of him.

| 

Itachi looks back over his shoulder, frowns. _This isn’t right._ The farther he goes, the less convinced he is that this terrible feeling is the result of stress, is a mere overreaction. He’s subconsciously reacting to something, he’s sure of it — his mind has connected the pieces, has realized that this entire situation is... _off_. But he’s not yet consciously aware of _what_ about it is so unsettling, of which part is triggering the alarm bells under his skin.  
  
The dog evidently likes him, though, because its tail starts _thumping_ against the ground and a large smile spreads across its face. Shisui feels himself start to relax and decides to press his luck, reaching to scratch behind one of the dog’s floppy ears. “Hey, bud.” The dog closes its eyes, leans into his hand. “What’re you doing all the way out here? You lost?” The dog, of course, doesn’t actually answer. Shisui looks back down the street, seeing if the dog’s owner might’ve miraculously appeared. But still, it’s empty.

| 

Absently, Itachi reaches back for the scroll, his mind reeling. _There’s something wrong. There’s definitely something wrong. But what?_  
  
The dog suddenly shifts underneath his hand. Shisui glances back down at the animal as it stands up, tail still wagging. “Hey, what’re you —” The dog then very rudely tries to nose its way past Shisui and into his apartment.

| 

Itachi stands in the middle of the clearing, indecisive. He needs to make a decision — all he’s accomplishing by constantly starting and stopping and second guessing himself is dragging out both the mission and his own anxieties. So he needs to choose: does he keep going or does he turn back?  
  
“Wait! No, no, no — you can’t come in here.” Shisui blocks the dog with his body, but it cranes its neck around him, tries to squeeze through the empty space left between the edge of the door and the outside of his leg.

| 

. . .  
  
“Stop, stop —” The dog nearly pushes past him. “Damn it!” He wraps his arms around the dog’s body, pushes it back and away from his door. Or, really, it might be more accurate to say that he _tries_ to push it back — the dog, at this point, is already halfway inside, its nails clacking against the floorboards as it strains against Shisui’s grasp. “Would you — quit it!” And that’s when the dog wriggles free, unceremoniously knocking Shisui on his ass and thumping him in the face with its tail as it races into the apartment.

| 

. . .  
  
Shisui sits, blinking stupidly at his now empty doorway. A loud _bark_ sounds behind him, and he turns around to see the dog happily sitting on his bed.

| 

_Fucking hell._  
  
He groans, reaches up and digs a knuckle into the corner of his eye. What he did to deserve this shit, he really isn’t sure.

| 

Itachi turns around.  
  
• • •

| 

• • •  
  
It takes exactly 53 minutes, but Shisui eventually manages to lure the dog out of his apartment. He achieves this through a mixture of concentration, willpower, and some leftover meat in his fridge. And also a ball.

| 

The air grows unbearably hot as Itachi races through the forest. He takes the same way back, jumping and ducking under branches and logs, willing his legs to move _faster, faster, faster._  
  
The dog is slobbering all over the ball now, gnawing at it as Shisui slips a makeshift leash over its large head. “Okay.” He stands up, admires his handiwork. The dog looks up at Shisui with one big, brown eye as it twists its head to the side and grinds the ball into the ground. Shisui sighs. “I know you think you’re adorable, but come on.” He tugs once at the leash, urging the dog to stand. “Let’s go find your owner so I can go back to doing nothing.”

| 

The scroll is still snug in his pocket, shifting against his leg with every step he takes. It makes hot needles prickle against his skin.  
  
The dog doesn’t move. Shisui groans, pulling at the leash again. “Please?” he implores, as if the dog is purposefully disobeying him. Which it might be, now that he thinks about it.

| 

Itachi knows that he could face severe repercussions for this. He isn’t abandoning the village, isn’t technically going rogue; but he is disobeying a direct command, is purposefully choosing not to complete a mission assigned to him. And for what? A hunch? A _bad feeling_?  
  
The dog looks up at him, then, drool dripping down its muzzle as it holds the ball loosely in its mouth. It lets out a chuff, and Shisui swears the fucker is trying to argue with him.

| 

His legs don’t slow. Not even slightly.  
  
“Listen,” Shisui starts, leveling the dog with a stern look. “We need to find your owner. You’re not supposed to be here.”

| 

At this rate, he’ll make it back to the village by dusk. He won’t stop to rest, won’t eat or drink or sleep. His only objective now is to get back to the Leaf, to find Shisui and figure out why everything feels _wrong_.  
  
The dog angles its head to the side, acting as if it might be considering the validity of Shisui’s argument. Shisui rolls his eyes. “I’m no fun, you know,” he informs the dog matter of factly, trying a different tactic. (Because obviously this is just a simple matter of _convincing_ the dog to get up.) “I don’t have any treats —” the dog’s ears perk up at the word “— or toys for you. You’d hate it here.”

| 

The world around him is a blur of color. His legs burn as he pulses more chakra down into them. _Faster,_ he thinks. _I can go faster._  
  
The dog’s tail starts wagging. Shisui frowns. “I feel like you’re not entirely appreciating your situation,” he tells the dog. “You’re lost, you know. Someone’s probably worried sick about you right now.”

| 

He’s breathing hard. Sweat’s collecting on the back of his neck, on his temples; it forms into tiny beads on his forehead, rolls down into his eyes. _Faster._  
  
The dog only huffs, evidently unconvinced, and Shisui actually finds himself chuckling under his breath. “Come on, don’t be dramatic. _Someone’s_ looking for you. We just have to find them.” He pulls at the leash again. The dog still doesn’t budge, but it drops the ball this time, stares at him curiously. Shisui grins, taking the opportunity to swipe the ball into his hand. _Let’s try this, then._ He waves it in the air enticingly. “Want the ball? Huh? Does the doggy want the ball?”

| 

_You’ll be no use to anyone tired,_ a small voice chastises in the back of his head. _Save your strength. You might need it._  
  
The dog hurries to its feet, panting in excitement. It barks at him. “Good dog,” he coos, urging it forward. “That’s a good...” The dog rises to its hind legs, and Shisui’s eyes widen. “Wait, no, bad dog. No, no, _no_ —” The dog tackles him to the ground.

| 

He ignores the voice and goes faster.  
  
• • •

| 

• • •  
  
Shisui’s clothes are covered in dirt, he has dried slobber all over his arm, and there’s a sizable hole in his pant leg. He glares down at the dog. “This was supposed to be my day off, you know,” he grouses. “I was trying to relax.”

| 

Itachi is only a few miles from the Leaf now. His armor is drenched in sweat, and he managed to tear his sleeve at some point. But he doesn’t slow down, because he’s almost there — he’s _almost there_.  
  
The dog pays Shisui no mind. It continues walking beside him, the ball held tightly in its mouth. Shisui sighs. “You really ruined my plans, is what I’m trying to say. Not that you seem to care. Which is kind of rude, if I’m being honest.”

| 

His legs are practically numb at this point, the chakra scorching through his veins. He feels hot, feverish; it’s been hours since he last drank anything, hours since he last ate, and he knows, logically, that he should let his body rest.  
  
The dog glances at him. “Yes,” Shisui says. “I’m talking to _you_ , you little shit.” He reaches down with a half smile, gives the dog a quick pat on the head.

| 

But he can’t stop. Not now.  
  
Despite the fact that the fucker absolutely ambushed him earlier, he has to admit that the dog _is_ sort of growing on him. Kind of. They’ve had a decently nice day together, at the very least, just roaming the streets of the village for hours on end. Shisui had been looking for _lost dog_ signs at first, eyeing every pole and window they passed for flyers. When he found none, he kept walking, hoping he’d pass by someone who recognized the dog. A few kids stopped and asked to pet it, but, beyond that, no one even gave them a second look. Afternoon light bled into dusk, and it was only then that Shisui realized he was actually enjoying himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he had meandered through the Leaf, just...observing everything. It was calm. Peaceful. And he actually managed to forget about the chaos of his clan, if only for a short while.

| 

Itachi heads straight for the compound, bypassing the village gates completely. Which isn’t technically allowed but, then again, nothing he’s done today has _technically_ been allowed. He’s already operating on the fringe of what’s permissible; the fact that he _didn’t check in_ is hardly going to be the thing that gets him in trouble at this point.  
  
They’re returning to his apartment, now. He’s taking the long way back to the compound, ambling down a poorly traveled dirt road that wraps around the outskirts of the village. It takes ages to get there by this route, but he doesn’t particularly mind. He doesn’t entirely want to go back home yet, anyway.

| 

He makes a quick hand sign as his foot lands hard against a branch. The entire limb sways with the force of it, its leaves slamming against each other in protest just as four crows dive down from the sky.  
  
Shisui sighs, looks back down at the dog. “I didn’t actually have any plans today,” he confesses. “So you didn’t really ruin anything, if you were worried about that.”

| 

The birds struggle to keep pace with him, flapping their wings erratically as they dodge around the trees. Itachi doesn’t turn to look at them, keeps his gaze locked straight ahead. His crows know Shisui almost as well as they know him; he won’t need to provide them with anything but the order.  
  
The dog cranes its neck to stare up at him, looking decidedly unworried about anything. Shisui keeps talking anyway. “I had things I was _supposed_ to do today, mind you, I just wasn’t really...planning on doing them.” He sighs and reaches up with his free hand, scratches the back of his head. “I’m not slacking or anything. I just...” he trails off, stares down at the dirt road as he grasps for the words. He doesn’t think he’s ever actually articulated any of this, now that he thinks about it, has ever actually spoken his thoughts about it out loud. The only person he would’ve ever told is Itachi, and he hadn’t wanted to burden his cousin with this. Because, really, it’s better if Itachi _doesn’t_ know what Shisui is planning. That way the clan won’t be able to blame him, won’t be able to punish him if the truth ever comes to light. Shisui will face the consequences of this decision alone; he won’t drag Itachi down with him, not if he can help it.

| 

“Find Shisui,” he tells them.  
  
He looks back down at the dog, takes a breath as he settles on the words he wants to use. “I just wanted one day,” he eventually admits. “Just one day to pretend like the world isn’t burning, you know?”

| 

The crows scatter.  
  
The dog huffs, in a way that suggests it doesn’t really know, but is willing to try and understand if Shisui wants to talk about it.

| 

Itachi keeps his course. The crows are overkill, probably; he knows this logically, could certainly reason through it if he actually took the time to stop and think about the reality of the situation. Shisui’s in his apartment, no doubt, whiling away the hours with some inane activity while he tries not to set something on fire out of sheer boredom. His crows will reach him a few minutes before Itachi does, will alert Shisui to his return. Which will give his cousin _plenty_ of time to realize what Itachi has done before he even has a chance to get there and properly explain himself.  
  
“I won’t bore you with the details,” he promises. “But I —”

| 

He’ll explain anyway, of course, will tell his cousin that something is wrong, terribly, terribly _wrong_ , but he can’t figure out what, isn’t sure —  
  
A childish, high-pitched voice cuts him off. “Hey! You found Hiro!” Shisui turns around, an eyebrow raised, to find a boy no older than ten barreling towards him. He’s small, scrawny, and his feet make no noise as they pound against the ground.

| 

Shisui will cut him off at that point. _“Holy shit,”_ his cousin will laugh, rolling his eyes to the sky in disbelief. _“Seriously, Itachi? That’s just — wow. Okay.”_ He’ll rub a hand over his face, shake his head. _“You know you’re just reacting to the stress, right? Because nothing’s actually wrong? Well, I mean, now something’s wrong, since you really just went and abandoned your mission completely, didn’t you? How the hell are you going to explain this to the Hokage, by the way? Did you consider that at all before you raced back here all hot and bothered? Actually, don’t answer that — I’m just going to assume you didn’t, because you’re a fucking dumbass that can’t tell the difference between —”_  
  
The boy stops a foot away from him, breathing hard. He grins and holds out an expectant hand. “Thanks, mister!”

| 

And then Shisui will go on and on and on and Itachi will be fucking pissed and annoyed and will seriously consider stabbing a kunai straight through his ear to escape Shisui’s bitching. But it will also be fantastic, because the relief will settle in his bones and he’ll be able to breathe again and _nothing will be wrong_.  
  
Shisui blinks. He looks down at the boy, then back at the dog. The animal has its head cocked to the side, considering the child. But it doesn’t move from Shisui’s side. “Uh.” He keeps his arm down, grips the leash a bit tighter. “Are you...sure?” he asks.

| 

Itachi grabs at a branch, launches himself up and over the village wall. The compound is only a few miles from here; it’ll take him minutes to reach Shisui’s apartment.  
  
The boy’s grin doesn’t falter. “Yep!” he says, pushing his hand closer. “That’s my dog!”

| 

He glances up at the sky, makes sure his crows have honed in on his cousin’s location, are flying above his house.  
  
_I...don’t think it is._ But how exactly does a person go about accusing a child of misidentifying their dog? Does he just...tell him? Ask him for some sort of proof? But then what kind of awful person does that make him if he’s wrong, if this _is_ this kid’s dog and he just flat out refuses to return it to him? Why would a kid lie about something like that, anyway?

| 

His heart pitches straight into his throat when he sees one of his crows circling an area near the outskirts of the village.  
  
Shisui peers down at the dog. _Just to be sure,_ he tells himself. _If it responds in any way, I’ll hand it over._ “Sorry, what’d you say its name was again?”

| 

Itachi shifts directions immediately. _A walk,_ he tells himself. _He probably just went on a walk because he can’t sit fucking still for more than a damn hour._  
  
He hears the boy shift his weight between his legs. “Hiro.” Shisui keeps his eyes trained on the dog, looking for even the slightest hint of movement — a twitch, a blink, _something_ that even mildly indicates that the dog is familiar with the name.

| 

Itachi keeps his eyes glued to the crow as he races towards his cousin, the trees a blur around him. He thinks he can feel Shisui’s chakra now, can sense the sharp thrum of it.  
  
The dog doesn’t react in the slightest.

| 

The air leaves him all at once. _Something’s wrong,_ he realizes, the anxiety he’s been trying to subdue hitting him like a tidal wave. _His signature isn’t right._  
  
Shisui sighs. “Listen, kid, I think you might —”

| 

Itachi sends as much chakra as he can through his legs. _This isn’t good. This isn’t —_  
  
And that’s when his neck erupts in blood.

| 

Shisui’s chakra spikes.  
  
He doesn’t see the attack at all, doesn’t even know where it comes from. It takes a moment for his mind to comprehend what’s happening, the pain not immediately registering even as copper floods his mouth and he falls back in shock, his body hitting the ground with a dull _thud_.

| 

“Shit!” His Sharingan bleeds to life, his attention wholly focused on trying to figure out what’s happening miles away. Which is why he only senses the shinobi charging towards him at the very last moment.  
  
Shisui stares wide eyed at the sky, stunned. He blindly grasps at his throat, his hand sliding wetly against his skin. _I’m bleeding,_ he thinks, and it’s such an odd realization that his brain gets stuck on the thought, can’t seem to move past it. _My throat is bleeding._

| 

Itachi doesn’t have enough time to dodge the attack completely. He manages to twist out of the way slightly, though, meeting the assault with his shoulder instead of his chest. But the force of the person’s body slamming into his still knocks him from the tree, nonetheless, and he lands hard against the ground. Rocks and twigs scrape painfully against his skin as he slides across the dirt, but he barely registers it as he uses the momentum to roll right back up to his feet. A kunai is already grasped tightly in his hand.  
  
Shisui tries to gasp in a gurgling breath through his ruined airway, his lungs burning.

| 

His eyes narrow when he sees a cloaked figure standing in front of him. The mask they’re wearing isn’t at all familiar to him. _Which means they aren’t ANBU,_ Itachi thinks, settling into a defensive stance. He probes for Shisui’s chakra as he assesses the enemy before him, tries to see how his cousin is fairing after that odd spike.  
  
He chokes.

| 

A jolt of alarm wrenches through him when he feels his cousin’s chakra fading, and fast.  
  
The dog is barking wildly next to him. Shoes scrape against the dirt road somewhere above his head. He hears metal pierce through flesh and _rip_. The dog lets out a loud, torturous whimper before falling silent.

| 

“Don’t interfere,” the man warns, but Itachi is already moving, his hands a blur of signs as he unleashes a massive fireball at the masked enemy.  
  
Splotches of darkness litter his vision as a large, shadowed figure moves to stand over him. The voice that speaks is shockingly familiar, and it hammers straight through the blood pounding in his ears.

| 

“Fucking hell!” the man curses, launching himself out of the way. Itachi doesn’t wait for him to land back on the ground, doesn’t wait for him to reorient himself at all. He takes off at a sprint towards his cousin’s flickering chakra signature instead.  
  
“I do apologize for this, Shisui,” the man says. “But, you see, I just couldn’t allow you to carry out your plan to stop the coup. It’s such a wasteful way to use the Sharingan, after all.” Something jabs hard into the dirt next to his head, and he doesn’t have to see it to know it’s a cane. “I will be sure to put your eyes to much better use, I assure you.”

| 

_Hold on, Shisui,_ he begs. _Just hold the fuck on._  
  
Shisui opens his mouth, tries to speak. But the only thing that dribbles out is blood. _You bastard,_ he thinks. _You fucking bastard._

| 

He hears the man pursuing him, hears the leaves and branches shifting behind him. But Itachi doesn’t stop, doesn’t turn around, because he needs to get to Shisui — _he needs to get to Shisui_.  
  
The last thing he sees before his vision blacks out completely is Danzo leaning down, smiling at him. His voice is a mere echo in Shisui’s head. “Don’t worry, Shisui,” he placates. “This really is for the best.”

| 

Itachi nears the edge of the tree-line; he can vaguely make out the dirt road below now. Two figures are there. One is lying prone on the ground — _Shisui_ — while the other leans over him.  
  
He feels his organs starting to shut down, feels his heartbeat slowing, his lungs drowning in blood. _I’m going to die,_ Shisui realizes. _I’m actually going to die._

| 

The second person has suppressed their chakra signature completely, so he can’t properly sense who it is. But the bandaged face and cane is a dead giveaway. _Danzo,_ Itachi realizes. _So the masked man must be Root, then. But what the hell is Danzo —_  
  
And then he does.

| 

Itachi doesn’t finish the thought, because that’s when he sees the blood.  
  
...for a little while, at least.

| 

The sound that rips itself from his throat is raw, visceral. “ _Shisui!_ ”


End file.
